27 02, 2017

Travel Missteps: Personal Time with TSA

By |February 27th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

I've talked about triggering the ETD system before, as well as getting the SSSS on almost every trip I fly. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. In May 2016, after reading all those articles of massive lines at TSA checkpoints (which disappeared later on in the year) paid $100 to apply for Global Entry and TSA Pre-Check. I didn't quite know what to expect. After being on the SSSS list, I decided against going through the lengthy "Redress" process. So I worried that I might be auto-denied for Global Entry. I waited a few weeks and

10 09, 2015

TSA Chemical Swab Test False Positive

By |September 10th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Tips|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

I've written before of how I'm on the "random" SSSS list and so get extra security every time I fly. What I forgot to bring up in that discussion was how once I accidentally set off TSA's Chemical Swab Test using Explosive Trace Detection (or Explosive Detection System aka EDS) to find explosive residue on your person or belongings. It was like any other travel day for me. I was getting my usual extra "random" security, and automatically presented my hands to be tested with their chemical swab. But this time it beeped, and the female TSA agent checked the machine. "Sorry,